General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Justice Stevens Scolds NRA & Suggests: The five extra words that can fix the Second Amendment [View all]DanTex
(20,709 posts)Like I said, the BoR protects some rights. Whether or not they "exist", in some abstract sense, before, during, or after the signing of the BoR is entirely irrelevant. What matters is what rights are actually protected by the BoR. And the second amendment protects the right to bear arms in the context of a militia. It doesn't protect any other rights, pre-existing or otherwise.
I feel great about the rights that have been derived from parts of the BoR, and I feel great about Roe v Wade. If you want to define more clearly what it means for a right to "exist", then I might be able to answer your question about whether a right can "exist" outside of government grants.
You can use the right to infanticide as an example. Does that exist? Did it ever? How does a right start "existing"? Once a right "exists" does it go on existing forever, or can it "die"? Can rights "exist" in specific geographic locations, or does a right either "exist" everywhere or nowhere?